By Marcus Uhe
Narre South coach Jeevan Mendis is hopeful that his Lions can take some important lessons from Saturday’s “badly needed” upset win over Buckley Ridges as its rollercoaster – and ultimately disappointing – season took another turn this weekend.
Mendis and his bowlers made the most of a tricky batting surface at Strathaird Reserve to successfully defend last week’s total of 217, rolling the defending champions for 148 in their second loss of the summer.
Wickets in clumps sunk the Bucks, which lost 3/1 and 3/2 at different stages in the innings.
Beyond a 44-run stand between Jake Cronin and Ben Wright for the second wicket, no partnership went further than 31, with the same number also the top score on the Buckley card, for both Wright and Ishan Jayarathna.
Mendis was the star of the show, taking 6/52, his second consecutive six-wicket haul, to pair with 60 in the first innings.
As pleasing as the six points was, however, it does nothing to answer the question as to what has happened to the Lions this season.
They were two wickets away from a grand final birth last summer after a brilliant run in the back after the Christmas break, but this season has seen them fluctuate violently between excellent and erratic.
They hold the distinctions of being both the only side to knock off Buckley Ridges and Springvale South, and lose to Dandenong West and Beaconsfield, their contenders in the dreaded relegation zone.
Mendis admitted he was frustrated at the drastic oscillations between their best and worst and urged his players to revert to the fundamentals of the game.
“Playing at Narre South you need to do the basics,” he said.
“When they are bowling and batting, they try to do too much.
“With the batting if they’re not scoring runs they try to play the big shots rather than get the singles and spend more time in the middle, rotating strike and building small partnerships.
“When they’re bowling they need to bowl more pace at the top of off stump and stump-to-stump.
“I think they’re trying too much with their performance and because of that they’re making too many mistakes.
“The last month I want them to do the basics; bowl wicket-to-wicket and make the batter make the mistake.”
Buckley Ridges and Narre South are forming somewhat of a one-sided rivalry, having played a handful of close contests in recent summers in which Buckley continuously found a way to win.
Mendis feels the tough competition bring the best out of his players and would like to see the confidence from this contest translate into the final three of the season as they seek to avoid relegation.
They have climbed to sixth place as a result of the win, joining three teams on 24 points but have the second-worst percentage of the trio.
Barring another upset win over Springvale South this weekend, the Lions are likely to slide back to seventh due to the North Dandenong and Beaconsfield fixture, with the winner to move above them in the standings.
After Springvale South, they face Dandenong West and Berwick in the final two rounds.
“Every match is very important for us,” Mendis said.
“We were talking about playing matches one at a time; it was a great thing for us to maintain focus and get some confidence.
“I think there’s something about Buckley that puts the focus in place.”
Mendis is set to miss the end of the home and away season due to participating in overseas legends cricket tour later this month, leaving pressure on his players to secure their place in the top flight.
Should they hold their spot in Turf 1, he hopes to see the club secure some more experienced senior heads.
Buckley Ridges maintains top spot on the ladder with Springvale South also losing but faces a huge test against the red-hot Berwick this weekend at Park Oval.
With just six points separating first and fourth in Turf 1, the Bucks could slip to as low as fourth with a loss, pending other results.
